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Zoopla powers on as switching grows

Zoopla's energy and communications switching platform provided the key growth driver
November 30, 2016

Zoopla Property Group (ZPLA) delivered another robust year of growth, including record revenue and adjusted cash profits. The group's websites and apps attracted over 600m visits in the reported period, of which just over two-thirds were made using mobile devices.

IC TIP: Hold at 345p

Comparison services provided the key growth driver, with revenue up 38 per cent at £111m, which the company said helped customers to save more than £320m on their energy bills alone, by switching suppliers. Switching volumes in energy and communications reached record levels, helped by continued regulatory support for comparison websites. New services under development include credit cards and banking, and since the year-end Zoopla has acquired Technicweb, a cloud-based estate agency website design business, and sealed a strategic partnership with Neos, a leading smart home insurance provider.

Property services revenue grew by 9 per cent to £86.7m, including £7.3m from five months of trading from Property Software. Visits to the property platform were up 2 per cent, delivering over 23m leads to its property partners. Partner numbers rose by 6 per cent to 23,101, including new homes developments, overseas and commercial agents. Average revenue per partner edged up 1 per cent to £328.

Analysts at Numis are forecasting adjusted pre-tax profits of £76.7m and EPS of 14.7p for the year to September 2017 (from 2.5p in FY2016).

ZOOPLA PROPERTY (ZPLA)
ORD PRICE:344.7pMARKET VALUE:£1.44bn
TOUCH:344.3-344.9p12-MONTH HIGH:349pLOW: 190p
DIVIDEND YIELD:1.50%PE RATIO:39
NET ASSET VALUE:34p*NET DEBT:103%
Year to 30 SepTurnover (£m)Pre-tax profit (£m)Earnings per share (p)Dividend per share (p)
20136528.35.4nil
20148028.75.11.1
201510833.66.23.5
201619846.28.95.2
% change84374449
Ex-div: 15 Dec
 
Payment: 9 Feb
 
Includes intangible assets of £322m, or 77p a share